How Did You Choose Your Breed Or Breed ?

[jase293]

hi guys,

as a newbie to this forum, i have been looking at all the amazing breeds that everyone keeps, growing up on a farm the only breeds i saw were heelers or kelpies, my only breed since then has been a rescue staffy, i have always thought about oneday getting a different breed, but i have no idea what breed i would like, ? how did you guys choose your breed or breeds, was it a breed you choose or did you get the breed because of some other reason ? , i would love to hear about your breed, also if you could have any breed in the world what would it be ?

regards jason

[whiskedaway]

When OH and I got Akira we had a list of breeds a mile long - in the end we narrowed it down to a Samoyed or a Husky. We're both pretty active people, and both having owned dogs before we thought we'd be up to the challenge of a Spitz breed. We decided on the Husky in the end because OH really doesn't like white dogs and we both just loved the independent nature of the Husky. Akira came home at 10 weeks old, and we had a few issues along the way - she'd never been inside before we got her, she wasn't well socialised but we worked through it (and in some cases we're still working through it) and she's a fantastic dog now.

I fell in love with Lappies by reading DOL, and met a fair few along the way. Akira is a bit of a breedist, and won't play with other Huskies - no clue why - but she adores her Lappie friends. I liked the fact that Lappies were still independent Spitz dogs, but I also liked the fact that they don't push the boundaries like Sibes do - one dog that pushes the boundaries is more than enough for our household! So we added Halo to our family. I like the fact that she is a high-drive Lappie - I don't think a couch potato Lappie would be a good fit for us due to the fact that we're active and love doing things with our dogs. She's been a dream to own so far, and I think the fact that the boundaries are already in place has helped.

In the future, I'll definitely have more Lappies. OH and I both agree that we'll probably have another Sibe one day as well, however for us we'll never have two Sibes together.

[Fatsofatsoman]

Hi Jason,

We had a good long look at our own lifestyle and what dog it would suit, from the amount of exercise time we could give, the yard space we had - our impending family we hope to start and then did a bit of research as to which dog we should be getting.

And a Lab was ours - obviously not the only breed that suited but I have had some experience with labs via friends and family so it got the nod.

I don't think I'd stray from this breed now either. If we did it'd probably be for an Airedale Terrier.

Cheers,

Dan

[dandybrush]

if i could have any breed it would be a koolie

i fell over a koolie pup in a pet shop almost 3 years ago now (razzle in my siggy) and just absolutely fell in love with him and his nature and his flexibility to do anything with

through my baby boy i met some wonderful koolie pple and some breeders, and just last week picked up my new little koolie girl to add to our family

[Jumabaar]

I was bitten by a BC when I was about 4- it was resource guarding. My mum didn't want me to be scared of dogs so asked my aunt to pick up a puppy- only requirement was a medium sized breed. (so much for careful breed research lol)

Ended up with a Kelpie- was going to be gotten rid of....... And still have kelpies because she was the best doggie companion growing up and certainly solved my short lived fear of dogs

I added a Finnish Lapphund because I was part way through uni, wanted a different breed that was more suitable to being raised by someone who had to study etc and would be good with my grandparents who minded her for me through the day. Perfect choice and Demi- she came practically lead trained and was very gentle with them.

[Leelaa17]

Hi Jason,

Welcome to DOL!

The one thing that I think everyone will tell you is to get a dog that suits your lifestyle - get a dog you need, not a dog you want. The reason being is because if you get a kelpie and work 12hrs a day and cannot give it two walks a day etc then that isnt going to be good for your dog. Think about how much exercise you can give it and how much time you can spend with it and how your staffy will get along with it... and decide that way.

I have always had small dogs - throughout my life, my first two dogs (one of them passed last yr and the other is still going strong at 16yrs old) were chinese crested x cavalier. Beautiful small dogs.

My partner was obsessed with GSD... he absolutely adored them and wanted one... I had never had a big dog before but I love ALL dogs so Iw as up for it.. we brought Max home (he is now one and a half) and I literally fell in love with him. He is the love of my life. Then we got another GSD Jenna who is my pride and joy (even thought she is mental lol). two GSD and I am telling you now... I will never have any other breed of dog. I love German Shepherds' loyalty, intelligence, energy, love and trust. They are beautiful dogs.

[Guest english.ivy]

Both my breeds found me [english pointer and belgian shepherd].

Going back to 1998, we were looking for a puppy as we had a dalmatian, and we had recently put down our 10 year old mixed breed. Mum noticed english pointer puppies in the paper, reg breeder. So mum called up and before I knew it, were came home with a stunning black and white puppy. She turned out to be the best breed of dog. Roll on 11 years mum has another pointer and so do I. Really don't know what it is about pointers that I love but they are an awesome breed.

I was looking for my first dog, four years after losing my first pointer and wasn't ready to get another pointer yet, so went in search of a new breed. After reading so many profiles on breeds, I had a vision of a black shaggy coated dog , kinda like the flat coated retriever but that breed didn't interest me.

Then stumbled across the belgian shepherd and now I have the most bestest black wolf like shadow

[spanky]

As others have said, assess your lifestyle and what you want / can manage in a dog and go from there.

We wanted a small dog, not too hyper, but OH didn't want a handbag dog and I didn't want heaps of grooming needs. We ended up with 4 dogs on our list - pugs, british bulldogs, french bulldogs and boston terriers. We narrowed it down from there and have ended up slaves to two french bulldogs.

[Jumabaar]

Hi Jason,

Welcome to DOL!

The one thing that I think everyone will tell you is to get a dog that suits your lifestyle - get a dog you need, not a dog you want. The reason being is because if you get a kelpie and work 12hrs a day and cannot give it two walks a day etc then that isnt going to be good for your dog. Think about how much exercise you can give it and how much time you can spend with it and how your staffy will get along with it... and decide that way.

I have always had small dogs - throughout my life, my first two dogs (one of them passed last yr and the other is still going strong at 16yrs old) were chinese crested x cavalier. Beautiful small dogs.

My partner was obsessed with GSD... he absolutely adored them and wanted one... I had never had a big dog before but I love ALL dogs so Iw as up for it.. we brought Max home (he is now one and a half) and I literally fell in love with him. He is the love of my life. Then we got another GSD Jenna who is my pride and joy (even thought she is mental lol). two GSD and I am telling you now... I will never have any other breed of dog. I love German Shepherds' loyalty, intelligence, energy, love and trust. They are beautiful dogs.

Just thought I would add to this

There was no thought to breed when I got my first kelpie- we had washing pulled off the line, holes dug to the other side of the planet, I was gently herded around the yard (and dobbed on when I did something wrong). So we had to change quite a few things to adapt to her. So you either need to research a breed that suits your lifestyle or be prepared to change your lifestyle to suit it- and furthermore be prepared to have some destruction along the way. Not many people do actually change their lifestyle..... and end up with clothes being torn off the line and holes being dug lol

I wouldn't have given up my first kelpie for anything, but I know it want easy on my mum!!

[Leelaa17]

Hi Jason,

Welcome to DOL!

The one thing that I think everyone will tell you is to get a dog that suits your lifestyle - get a dog you need, not a dog you want. The reason being is because if you get a kelpie and work 12hrs a day and cannot give it two walks a day etc then that isnt going to be good for your dog. Think about how much exercise you can give it and how much time you can spend with it and how your staffy will get along with it... and decide that way.

I have always had small dogs - throughout my life, my first two dogs (one of them passed last yr and the other is still going strong at 16yrs old) were chinese crested x cavalier. Beautiful small dogs.

My partner was obsessed with GSD... he absolutely adored them and wanted one... I had never had a big dog before but I love ALL dogs so Iw as up for it.. we brought Max home (he is now one and a half) and I literally fell in love with him. He is the love of my life. Then we got another GSD Jenna who is my pride and joy (even thought she is mental lol). two GSD and I am telling you now... I will never have any other breed of dog. I love German Shepherds' loyalty, intelligence, energy, love and trust. They are beautiful dogs.

Just thought I would add to this

There was no thought to breed when I got my first kelpie- we had washing pulled off the line, holes dug to the other side of the planet, I was gently herded around the yard (and dobbed on when I did something wrong). So we had to change quite a few things to adapt to her. So you either need to research a breed that suits your lifestyle or be prepared to change your lifestyle to suit it- and furthermore be prepared to have some destruction along the way. Not many people do actually change their lifestyle..... and end up with clothes being torn off the line and holes being dug lol

I wouldn't have given up my first kelpie for anything, but I know it want easy on my mum!!

Well that's true because I had to drastically change my lifestyle to fit with two GSD. As I said I have never had big breeds and didnt know what they needed and it was a very spur of the moment thing to go out and get Max - and when I realised the things he needed I changed my lfiestyle for him.

It can work - no matter what dog you get - but as Woofen said - you need to either be prepared to get a dog that will suit your lifestyle.... or be prepared to change your lifestyle for the breed.

[dandybrush]

i have to say raz changed my lifestyle to one of being more active and social he keeps me thinking thats for sure

[whiskedaway]

There was no thought to breed when I got my first kelpie- we had washing pulled off the line, holes dug to the other side of the planet, I was gently herded around the yard (and dobbed on when I did something wrong). So we had to change quite a few things to adapt to her. So you either need to research a breed that suits your lifestyle or be prepared to change your lifestyle to suit it- and furthermore be prepared to have some destruction along the way. Not many people do actually change their lifestyle..... and end up with clothes being torn off the line and holes being dug lol

SO true. While we picked our Sibe knowing full well what we were getting into and believing she was the perfect breed for us, we still had to change our lifestyle to fit in with her - we had holes dug from one end of the garden to the other, so we redid our backyard and made it dog friendly. We had washing pulled off the line so we looped it over so she couldn't reach it. We put in place really strict boundaries that we didn't need with our previous dogs. Since Halo has come along, Akira hasn't had time to be naughty, though, which is fantastic, and she doesn't push the boundaries quite as much.

[kelpiekaye]

My current choice of breed is the Australian Kelpie. I first had contact with Kelpies in NZ while competing in dog agility with GSD Juste. A fellow competitor from Auckland had a Black Kelpie called Drum who was one of the top agility dogs in NZ. I was always impressed by everything about Drum. One day he gave me a go at running his dog. It was awesome. I promised myself the next dog I would get would be a kelpie and have never regreted the choice. I still love GSDs and lean towards working breeds for their intellegience, energy and loyalty.

[Bjelkier]

We were looking for a companion for our Lab when our APBT died.

My OH didn't want another APBT or Amstaff and I didn't want more Gundogs or anything really big (he wanted a Great Dane or an Irish Wolfhound) so we narrowed it down to a Keeshond or a Samoyed.

We met a Samoyed at a dog show and we both fell crazy in love.

They are very smart, playful, loving, independant, can be trained in almost any dog sport, the best cuddlers ever, you are never alone if you have a Samoyed, they stick to you like glue

I also enjoy grooming the dogs, I find it relaxing (this is a good thing becuase I groom a lot )

Now we have four and would never not have Samoyeds, as far as we are concerned you don't get a better breed.

I use to have a list a mile long with dogs I would one day like to own but as I spend heaps of time at shows I'm slowly knocking off breeds that I have come to realise don't suit our lifestyle or we have decided we just didn't like as much as we thought we did.

Our next non Samoyed will be a Bullmastiff. The BM is my OH's choice, he grew up with one and wants another. I wasn't too sure about it in the begining because I always wanted a Dogue De Bordeaux but now having spent a huge amount of time with the BM's I would not even think about owning another Mastiff breed, they a wonderful dogs.

As for any other breed, well, it's now down to a Borzoi, Afghan Hound, Greyhound or a Keeshond but who knows how long that list will last.

[The Spotted Devil]

My first dog was a wonderful, intelligent Australian Cattle Dog who knew a lot more than I did about training for obedience and agility. She was originally our family dog so I didn't have much choice. I probably won't have another, only because she was so special.

When she passed away at the ripe old age of 17, I wanted an active, elegant looking dog for agility and obedience. And I wanted a challenge I was recommended to speak to a Dalmatian breeder although this breed was not on my list at all. I clicked with the breeders and waited 2 years for a puppy to become available. Madness has ensued ever since but, my goodness, I'm enjoying the journey!

With my next pup, I became hooked on the sport of retrieving. I was offered a working line Lab puppy but had always wanted an English Springer Spaniel, plus their size and temperament meant that they would probably suit our household better. I was quickly educated as to the difference between working and show lines and was given a recommendation to a breeder by my retrieving mentor, friend and Lab owner. Em is energy PLUS, despite her soft nature, and is not a dog for everyone. Suits me perfectly

[Baileys mum]

Hi Jason & welcome to DoL

When my hubby & I moved in together in 1998 we decided we wanted to get a small terrier type dog. My family had owned a Cairn terrier so I really liked small terriers.

We where going to rescue one from the pound, but then my hubby came home from work one day & told me that one of his work mates wanted to get rid of his 6 month old Aussie terrier x JRT (which he had BYB'd himself ) & then realised he didn't want to keep anymore.

He said if he couldn't find her a home soon...he was going to take her to the pound.

So of course we went to have a look at her that night , & she was so friendly & sweet & right then & there she became ours. We took her home that night & now Jessie is 13 & has been the best companion for us & we love her dearly.

When Jessie was 8 we decided we where ready for a 2nd dog, so we decided that seeing Jessie had been such a great dog & she shows alot of her dads Aussie terrier personality that we would get a purebred Aussie terrier this time....So we got Bailey & fell in love & where totally hooked from then on. Our breeder then sold us our foundation bitch Brandy..we got our breeders prefix & under our breeders guidance we then bred our first litter ..& have kept Jasper ..a little boy from the litter.

We are expecting our next litter next week & hopefully we will be keeping a bitch puppy from this litter or possibly from a future litter.. & we will be probably buying another bitch puppy from another breeder in the near future too.

I think I will always own Aussies terriers now, but since being on Dol I have really started to fall for Australian shepherds too, & hope to own 1 in the future.

[Sheridan]

Aside from one ring-in crossbreed as a child, my family have only ever had the Irish terrier breeds. We had several irish terriers growing up and a kerry blue. My sister is the keeper of the irish terrier flame in the family and I am the keeper of the kerry blue flame. On seeing wheatens, my dad and I fell in love with the creatures (my then 72-year-old dad said, 'I want one' on seeing a wheaten for the first time) so I also keep the wheaten flame alive. I adore them. They're clever, independent and hilariously funny.

[mita]

As others have said, start with your lifestyle needs. Which change over a life-time.

We always had the working dog breeds, going from border collies then to shelties. We were not small dog people. But we did own a small mixed breed rescue dog saved after being thrown from a car as a puppy. She was a lovely, sensible little housedog for 22 years.

When she died, I realised I missed a small dog. Did some research & liked the look of the papillon. So when we went to the Brisbane Royal one year, I went to look at the small breeds, wanting to see papillons & talk to breeders.

First row of little dogs I walked into, totally won my attention. I had no idea what they were. They had beautiful coats of all colours, sat calmly & confidently. But, most of all, they looked me straight in the eye, as if weighing me up, 'Are you a person I'd want to know?'

I asked what they were. 'Tibetan Spaniels.' I'd never heard of them before.

But I was hooked, did research, spoke to breeders....& we've only ever had tibetan spaniels since then. Calm, confident and once they've accepted you as a person they want to know....affectionate, smart & joyful.

Every day I get the same impression, as I look at our tibbies' faces, as I did when I accidently walked into them at the 'Ekka years ago.

Edited April 5, 2011 by mita

[Wadz]

Hi Jason.

My parents used to have Australian silky terriers when they had pet shops around 20 years ago. They had 3 when they move to Tasmania. I grew up with Silkys. However, we didn't have one for 10 years. Just before mums 50th birthday we were sitting in the lounge watching our 11 month old 8kg ragdoll play and she said, as a joke, we should get a silky to chase him. I was stuck on what to get her for her birthday and it suddenly clicked that I should get her a silky. So about 20 days before her birthday I went in search of a silky. I soon found out that there aren't many in Tasmania and had to look outside of our little state. I ended up finding the perfect little boy in Queensland. He arrived a few days before Christmas and he has the sweetest, playful personality. Our silky obsession started there and I received a silky for my 18th birthday. We have just started showing and we love it. I feel life would not be complete without a silky around now.

Wadz

[huga]

I love the look of brachy breeds, wanted something smallish, with minimal grooming requirements and not super common

Edited April 5, 2011 by huga